Friday, December 18, 2009

Review: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart


Book Info:
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (March 25, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0786838183
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Library (audio)
Rating: 4/5



Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
Debate Club.
Her father's "bunny rabbit."
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind.

This is the story of how she got that way.






Sorry for the super long description (I even cut some of it out), but I loved the way it was written up and it gives a great example of the humor in this book. I first saw this one mentioned on a blog a while back. It looked good, but wasn't something I was rushing out to get. When the library had it on audio, though, I figured I'd give it a try.

Frankie is a great character. She's smart and opinionated, but she's also in that awkward stage where she's trying to find herself while also trying to fit in with her peers. Lockhart does a great job of keeping this balance believable. Frankie doesn't wake up one day and have all the answers. She's still insecure and that makes her very realistic.

I wasn't crazy about the narrator when I first started listening to this one. I thought her voice was a little whiny, but it grew on me after a bit. Lockhart's book was entertaining, without being full of over-the-top, unbelievable pranks. This was an enjoyable listen and I'll be watching for more of Lockhart's books. 4 stars

4 comments:

Jennifer said...

I have this checked out fromt the library and hope to get to it soon! Looks like a cute read!

Sandy Nawrot said...

That's a pretty clever and compelling description really. I don't know about you, but it seems my audio book listening tends to be a catch-all for everything that I impulsively want to read. I have so many hard books sitting on my shelves, that it is hard for me to justify reading just anything. I take anything on audio, and what happens is that I come across some really great reads in the process.

Lisa said...

I really enjoyed this one. I could have done without the last chapter, but the rest was great. I loved Frankie's voice.

Zibilee said...

I hadn't yet heard of this book, but it does look like something I would enjoy, and I really like the style of that synopsis! Thanks for sharing your opinion on this one. I will be keeping my eye out!